Portland Timbers: What went wrong in Seattle?

Portland 0 – 3 Sounders

Despite the season the Portland Timbershave had this year, the club had a shot at complete redemption when they traveled to Seattle, Washington to take on their bitter rival, the Seattle Sounders.

If the Timbers could have beaten the Sounders on Sunday night, they would have secured the Cascadia Cup, giving them bragging rights in the northwest as well as something to be proud about during a dismal 2012 MLS campaign.

Unfortunately, things did not go as well as the Timbers had hoped.

Greeted by over 66,000 ravenous fans at CenturyLink Field, the Timbers failed to convert any of their opportunities as they lost to Seattle by a score of 3-0.

A squandered opportunity at taking something out of what has become a dreadful season, let’s take a look at what exactly went wrong when the Portland Timbers took on the Sounders in Seattle.

Portland fell victim to the Sounders on Sunday night in front of 66,000+ at CenturyLink Field (Photo: Portlandtimbers.com)

Early Momentum Relinquished Quickly

While all pregame coverage and festivities belonged to the Sounders, the Timbers got off to a fast start in the contest as they pressed Seattle’s defense and took control of possession.

Portland was very aggressive at the start of the game, resulting in a lot of opportunities towards the net that could not be converted into scores.

Unfortunately for the Timbers, their early momentum disappeared rapidly as the Sounders established their own attack and rallied for two goals late in the first half that took the air out of Portland and their traveling fans.

Can’t Convert Opportunities

The Timbers had plenty of opportunities to make their contest against the Sounders on Sunday night very interesting at times.

No matter if they were down by one or two goals, Portland displayed the ability to create openings and pressure for their offense to push down the field and have opportunities on goal, they just could not find a way to put a goal into the net.

As frustrating as that was to watch, the Timbers can come out of this game with a little momentum as they know they had the opportunity to make this a closer game than it really was

Seattle Proved the Better Team

Make all the excuses you want, the Sounders proved to be the better MLS team on Sunday evening in Seattle.

As much as Portland would like to be considered among the elite teams in the MLS, the Timbers are clearly not there yet. Seattle has a certain draw and type of player on their team that really make them an elite MLS program, something the Timbers have yet to do.

While Portland does have a fair share of talented players, the way their team has reeled this year can be attributed to the fact that they are not a well-rounded team like Seattle is.

And, unfortunately for the Timbers and their fans, it may remain that way for quite some time.